The frying of food is a technique which is widely used as a method of food preparation in Spain. Batter-coated products are the most-consumed food products prepared using this technique.
The highest quality of batter-coated products is achieved when the fried products are soft and moist inside and are covered with a crispy layer or coating on the outside.
The energy necessary for frying is provided by the hot oil and part of this is absorbed by the food, which increases the amount of calories provided to the consumers.
A way of reducing the absorption of oil during the frying of batter-coated products is to incorporate substances such as proteins or hydrocolloids into the batter paste. A related patent is U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,573, which proposes a formulation for batter coating that contains HPMC. This cellulose gives rise to a considerable reduction in oil-absorption by the food without losing the crispy quality desired by the consumer.
The use of microwave ovens has now become an alternative method to cook food, especially due to the lower fat content of the final product. Both in patent WO 0108513 and in WO 9303634 a batter-coated product is developed from a formulation that has celluloses incorporated. Said product is prepared in the traditional way (pre-frying in oil and freezing) while providing the advantage that for its final preparation it can be heated in a microwave oven without losing the textural characteristics desired by the consumer.
Once batter-coating formulations that reduce the absorption of oil in the food product have been developed and alternative methods to cook the final product have been studied, it would be desirable to find a process to replace the process of pre-frying in oil, which is the most problematic in the batter-coated product production process.